The view of women in most Westerns is one of weakness; they have a place by the side of men and that’s where they are supposed to stay. Often in the classic Western, the women would sometimes show a streak of passion or fire, but would ultimately revert back to a state of dependence. Tompkins describes this typical Western woman by the fact that “there’s nothing to them”, and that “They may seem strong an resilient, fiery and resourceful at first, but when push comes to shove, as it always does, they crumble” (61). That opinion indeed holds true for many of the classic films, but High Noon(1952) and the much later The Ballad of Little Jo (1993) seriously question the weak state of women.
In High Noon, Helen Ramirez shows the qualities of a very strong and fairly well respected individual. She owns the local saloon, has clearly made a living for herself, and even has men working under her. She is a woman who knows what she wants, knows what she stands for, and has no problem showing her strong will. When Harvey tries to tell her to stay and attempts to kiss her, she pushes him back, and gives him a stern warning that men don’t put their hands on her when she doesn’t want them to. After demonstrating that she means what she says, Harvey leaves her alone, not pushing the issue. Amy Kane, who embodies the elegant, peaceful woman who would solve problems with words and not violence, initially plans on leaving her husband to fight alone. Ultimately though, she shows her strength by returning and fighting by her man, even killing one of his opponents which is against her Quaker religion. She was strong and did what was necessary.
Jo Monaghan in The Ballad of Little Jo could certainly never be seen to “crumble” when push came to shove. The men in the movie clearly were still of the belief that a woman could be either a wife or a whore, and couldn’t amount to much more. Percy at one point says, “I’ve found women to be more trouble than they’re worth”. However, Jo proved them all wrong. By dealing with the life she had to face (exile from the life of society, facing the streets), she chose to make her own path, even though doing so meant that she had to change her sex. She showed tremendous resilience and determination, not just at the beginning, but all the way throughout the film. Facing hard winters, learning to herd sheep, build a homestead, and to defend herself in a short time. She has a small moment of weakness when she contemplates taking the easy way out and selling her ranch, but realizes that she can stand up for herself – even to the lengths of killing two men in defense. Jo stayed strong until the day she died, and sacrificed much. The women in both films did not crumble, and they certainly have something of qualty to them.
The view of women in the classic Westerns is one of weakness. They have a place by the side of men and that’s where they are supposed to stay. Often in the traditional Western, the women would sometimes show a streak of passion, but ultimately would revert back to a state of dependence. Tompkins describes this typical Western woman by the fact that “there’s nothing to them”, and that “They may seem strong an resilient, fiery and resourceful at first, but when push comes to shove, as it always does, they crumble” (61). That opinion indeed holds true for many of the classic films, but High Noon(1952) and the much later The Ballad of Little Jo (1993) seriously question the weak state of women.
ReplyDeleteIn High Noon, Helen Ramirez shows the qualities of a very strong and fairly well respected individual. She owns the local saloon, has clearly made a living for herself, and even has men working under her. She is a woman who knows what she wants, knows what she stands for, and has no problem showing her strong will. When Harvey tries to tell her to stay and attempts to kiss her, she pushes him back, and gives him a stern warning that men don’t put their hands on her when she doesn’t want them to. After demonstrating that she means what she says, Harvey leaves her alone. Amy Kane embodies the elegant, peaceful woman who would solve problems with words not violence. She initially plans on leaving her husband to fight alone, due to her Quaker beliefs. Ultimately though, she shows her strength by returning and fighting by her man, even killing one of his opponents – an act against her religion. She was strong and did what was necessary.
Jo Monaghan in The Ballad of Little Jo could certainly never be seen to “crumble” when push came to shove. The men in the movie clearly were still of the belief that a woman could be either a wife or a whore, and couldn’t amount to much more. Percy at one point says “I’ve found women to be more trouble than they’re worth”. However, Jo proved them all wrong. She dealt with the life she had to face (exile from the life of society, facing the streets), by choosing to make her own path, even though doing so meant that she had to change her sex. She showed tremendous resilience and determination, not just at the beginning, but all the way throughout the film. Facing hard winters, learning to herd sheep, build a homestead, and to defend herself in a short time. She has a small moment of weakness when she contemplates taking the easy way out in selling her ranch. However, she ultimately realizes that she needs to stand up for herself no matter what– even to the lengths of killing two men in defense. Jo stayed strong until the day she died. The women in both films did not crumble, and they certainly have something to them.
These strong women both commentated on the society at the time that the films were made. The women of High Noon show how women were beginning to question their role as wives and mothers. Especially after being allowed to work in the factories in World War II. When The Ballad of Little Jo was made in 1992, I believe it was critiquing the success of the transgender and overall sexual liberation period of the nineties.